Flashback
by Gidget Reid
Summary: Based on the story "Lifted" by Skyler Salvator. This is the episode version of this story that was co-written by Skyler and Myself. Dr. Spencer Reid is shock by a vision of his past. He may never be the same after he remembers Mercy.
1. Scene 1: Remembering Mercy

Scene 1- Remembering Mercy

Setting- Airport/ Quantico, Virginia

_It's late, Grace Mercer is stepping off a plane after spending the last ten years in Moscow Russia training in classical ballet. She grabs her suitcase and duffel, goes outside, and starts to hail a cab._

Grace- "Taxi. Taxi. TAXI!" _A cab pulls over and she gets inside. They drive for a while, when the cab comes to a stop in front of an apartment complex. By now it has started raining heavily, so she sprints to her apartment door. _

Grace- "Which key was it…" _Fumbling with keys and mumbling to herself. _"Here it is" _She says. She goes to unlock the door when she sees a large envelope on taped to the door. _"What's this?" _She asks herself. She opens it, pull out the contents, gasps, drops everything, pulls out her phone, and dials a number that she hasn't called in ten years. _

Setting- Flashback to a high school football field

_We see a young boy tied to a goalpost, struggling to get free. He's naked. He hears a bush ruffle, and turns his head to try and see._

Reid- "Hello…is anyone there?" _A young girl emerges from the bushes. She is holding a ballet bag. _"Who, who are you?" _He says trying to hide the fact that he had been crying._

Grace- "Here, let me help you." _She puts her bag down, and pulls a pocketknife out of one of its pockets. _"Hold still" _She cuts him free._

Reid- "Thanks." _he says looking down._

Grace- _She reaches into her bag again and pulls out a full body towel _"Here."_ she says handing him the towel._

Reid- "Thanks." _He puts on the towel. _"what are you doing here this late?"

Grace- "I was walking home from ballet class and I saw what happened, I wanted to help, but I didn't think there was much I could do. I'm Grace by the way, Grace Mercer."

Reid- "I'm Spencer, Spencer Reid" _This memory fuzzes into another, Grace and Spencer are sixteen and each others best friend. They're at Graces ballet studio. He came to watch her dance. _

Reid- "Come on Mercy_, _your class ending half an hour ago, I'm hungry, I thought we were going to that new Indian restaurant." _Grace is dancing around the studio on Pointe._

Grace- "I'm not going anywhere till you dance with me." _She goes over to the bar and pouts at him. This isn't the first time they've had this argument. _"It's easy and you know it."

Reid- "Fine, but only because I'm hungry, and we have reservations." _He gets up and they start laughing more than dancing. _

Grace-"See, you're a natural." _This memory fuzzes into one in an airport four year later._

Grace- "Thanks for driving me" _She's holding back tears._

Reid- "No problem." _He tries to smile, but he's also holding back tears. _"Promise this isn't the end. That we'll still keep in touch"

Grace- "I don't know Spence. I mean your starting that new job at the FBI, and I'm gonna be training day and night…"

Reid- "Just promise me Mercy" _Grace can no longer hold back the tears. She nods. Reid pulls her in for a final huge, to try and comfort her, and to hide his own pain._

Intercom- Flight 215 to Moscow is now boarding. _Grace pulls away from Reid, wanting to make this goodbye as fast as possible._

Grace- "I have to go. I love you Spence."

Reid- "I love you too Mercy." _They share one more huge, she picks up her carryon, and starts to walk away. This is when things started to go wrong. Reid starts to walk towards Grace but he can't get to her. He screams _"Mercy, Mercy!" _he can't seem to get to her._

_The scene moves to Reid's present day bedroom. His phone is ringing, and he is screaming in his sleep._

Reid- "Mercy! Mercy!" _he awakes. He is in a daze still, but pick up his phone. _"Hello." _All he hears is a woman crying, and trying to speak._

Grace- " Spencer. Spencer it's me." _Reid his shocked to hear a voice that he has not heard in ten year. _

Reid- "Mercy?" _Still not believing his ears._

Grace- "Spence, I need you."

Reid- "Ok, ah, where are you, I'll come get you."

Grace- "I'm in a café in DC."

Reid- "I'm on my way. Tell me what happened." _He get out off bed, gets dressed, gets the café address, and walks out the door, not once hanging up he phone._


	2. Scene 2: Protection Detail

Scene 2- Protection Detail

Setting- Café in DC

_The time is 3:42am. Reid has been driving for almost an hour, but he has finally reached the café. He walks in out of the still pouring rain and see that the café is almost disserted, with the exception of the wait staff, a few men with laptops here and there, and a very pretty woman at around the age of thirty sitting at a small table in the corner sipping nervously on a frappe'. Reid instantly knows that she is the one he was looking for. He walked over to the table and cleared his throat. _

Grace- "Spencer…" _stands up, hugs him and begins to cry._

Reid- "It's ok Mercy." _trying to calm her_. "Now, tell me what happened."

Grace- _calming herself _"Well, when I got to my apartment, there was this envelope taped to the door. And there where pictures in it."

Reid- _"_Do you have them with you?" _she nods towards her purse. _"Can I see it?"

Grace- "Not here."

Reid- "Why don't we go back to your apartment and you can show them to me there…" _he is cut off by grace._

Grace- "I can't go back there!" _she says franticly. _"I can Spence, I can't!"

Reid- "Shh, its ok calm down. Now why can't you go back?"

Grace- _Leaning in closer to him _"He knows where I live." _At that moment it was as if Grace was sending him a thought that he immediately understood._

Reid- "Come on Mercy. We're leaving." _standing up._

Grace- Where're we going?"

Reid- "Quantico." _They walk out off the café and get into Reid's car. Once they're in the car, Reid turns to Grace._ "Ok. Now tell me what's going on." _Grace reaches into her purse and hands Reid the envelope. He opens it at once knows what he has to do. _"You said on the phone that you just got back from Russia a few hours ago. Where are your bags?"

Grace- "I waited until I was in my apartment before I opened it. So all my stuff is there. I dropped everything called you, can ran."

Reid- "Don't worry Mercy, I'll do everything I can to protect you." _He hands her back the envelope, puts the car in gear and starts to drive. As they drive away, Reid can see that see Grace is still very upset, so he took one hand off the wheel and grabs on of her hands._

Setting- BAU Headquarters

_When they we're on their way back to Quantico, Reid called the rest of the team and told them that they had an emergency and that they had to get to the BAU as fast as possible. The team is gathered in the round table room, with the exception of Seaver, who is taking some vacation time to visit her family. The team is talking amongst themselves._

Morgan- "There better be a good reason for us having a meeting this early."

JJ- "Did Reid tell anyone what this was about?"

Hotch- "All he said was its an emergency and that we had to get her as fast as possible, and he'd be here as soon as he could."

Rossi- "I say if he's not here in the next fifteen minutes, we call this whole thing off." _Reid enters with Grace close behind. He immediately goes to the board, and starts hanging up pictures._

Hotch- "Reid what's this about? And who's this?"

Reid- _not looking away from the board _"Guys this is Mercy. She's a… friend."

Grace- "Grace Mercer. Nice to meet you."_ shaking hands with the team._

Morgan- "Reid, there's a pretty girl that's not ashamed to be seen with you. Never thought I'd see the day." _Hotch gets up and moves next to Reid._

Rossi- "It's very nice to meet you too, but your name still doesn't explain what she's doing here."

Hotch- "Reid, what's all this." _He looks at all the pictures and the note. Reid turns to the rest of the team._

Reid- "These pictures where tapes to the apartment door of Ms. Mercer in DC. As you can see, the girls in theses pictures have been severely beaten, and have severed multiple fractures in the feet and ankles. But whether or not these injuries lead to there death is unknown."

Morgan- "Reid, how do you know all this?" _Grace answers before Reid can._

Grace- "The broses." _she walks over to the board _"Look," _pointing at the feet _"these girls are dancer, ballet to be exact. I use to get broses just like that when I was in Russia. From ankle injuries."

JJ- "Guys, look at the note." _standing up and walking over to the note. _"It says 'They were good, but they weren't you. You're next, because the best is always saved for last.' And look at these pictures;" _pointing at each picture as she lists _"Your eyes, your hair, your smile. This guy clearly has some kind of obsession with you that he's willing to kill for."

Grace- "Are you saying that these killings are my fault?"

Hotch- "Not at all. This unsub is most likely someone that you know or knew at one point, and since these girls have broses that almost certainly can from a dance injury, he most likely associates you with dance."

Reid- "That's not to far fetched. She's been in Russia for the pat ten years studying ballet, not to mention the fifteen years before that."

Morgan- "Can you think of anyone you've trained with that showed an unhealthy interest in you or your dancing. A partner or a fan perhaps?"

Grace- "While I was in Moscow, after almost every show I'd find anonymous flowers in my dressing room, but so did all the other led dancers."

Rossi- "It's ok, we don't need a name to build a profile."

Hotch- "That may be so, but one thing we do know is that this unsub means business, and he will try to find a way to you. That's why until we catch this guy you will be placed under the protection of the BAU. JJ, would you be willing to let Ms. Mercer stay with…" _he is cut off by Grace._

Grace- "I want to stay with Spencer."

Hotch- "Ms. Mercer are you sure?"

Grace- "I've known Spencer since I was twelve, I'd trust him with my life. I guess now I have too."

Morgan- "Hotch, how exactly are we going to find this guy if we have no crime scene to build a profile with?"

Reid- "He signed his name."

Hotch- "What?"

Reid- "Well not his name, but his initials, look, G.A.J."

JJ- "Grace, do these initials sound familiar?"

Grace- "A few months ago, after I decided to leave the company, I started getting letters from the same fan, saying that I shouldn't leave, that I was the best, and that no other dancer would be as good as me."

Hotch- "That's good, anything else?"

Grace- "After my final performance, there was a letter in a bouquet of flowers; it said you'll regret leaving. I just though it was an upset fan, I never thought it would mean…"_ she brakes off and starts to cry, Reid and JJ walk over to her to comfort her. They help her into a chair, and JJ sits next to her, while Reid walks back over to the board._

JJ- "It's ok honey, how could you have known?"

Hotch- "Your doing great Grace, is there anything else?" _Reid looks at Hotch._

Reid- "Hotch, how far are you going to push her."

Grace- "It's okay Spence. At my going away party, my partner Grayson kept telling not to go, that it was a mistake."

Rossi- "Wait a minute. Did you say his name was Grayson?"

Grace- "Yeah why?"

Morgan- "What's this guy's last name?"

Grace- _realizing where he's going with this _"James, but he couldn't be the one you're looking for, he, he was always so nice…"

Hotch- "Morgan, have Garcia run a background check on this guy. Reid, take Grace back to your apartment. And Grace, if James really is the unsub, he will try to contact you, it's his method. When he does, we'll be ready for him."


End file.
